SF Demands Taoiseach Meeting

Sinn Féin says it is seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach to outline areas where the Lisbon Treaty needs to ammended following his comments that he is to consult widely at home and abroad.

The party says there are a number of areas where changes need to be made that would protect workers' rights and ensure Ireland's influence in Brussels is not weakened.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin this morning, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said EU bureaucrats must be told that the Irish people want a better and fairer treaty.

"The leaders of all 27 member states need to listen to what the people have said and bring forward a new treaty which deals with their concerns," he said.

"That will only happen if the Irish Government speaks with a clear voice. The Government needs to act in accordance with the wishes of the electorate."

Mary Lou McDonald said many of the concerns shared by the Irish people over the implementation of the treaty were shared by the people of other European states, and implored the government to seek a new agreement.

She said: "The Irish people gave the government a clear and strong mandate to renegotiate the Lisbon Treaty.

"At his first European Council meeting, as Taoiseach, Brian Cowen should set out in clear and unambiguous terms the concerns raised by the Irish people and the need for these concerns to be properly addressed."

(DW)